Rain to Roses

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wilbur turned the corner and his breath caught in his throat. The hallway in front of him looked like a hurricane had passed through it only moments before. Except rather than a hurricane, it was more of a mob of yelling and running and fighting kids, all around Wilbur's age. Some younger, and some older.

He weaved his way through the chaos, trying to avoid getting trampled or ran into every five seconds. The stairway was no better. He rushed up the stairs, getting shoved twice, and almost falling. He kept going, finally reaching the top.

The fact that he was wearing his very heavy backpack didn't help the matter, it made it much worse. At one point, a girl that looked slightly older than Wilbur grabbed the handle of his bag, yanking him back. He hit into some lockers, and the girl and a few others were laughing. Wilbur could smell the strong scent of alcohol, and the group were definitely acting as if they were drunk, which they probably were. He winced, pushing past the group to continue on, determined to get to his dorm.

He started running a bit through the halls, passing multiple groups of kids huddled together. Most were on their phones, while others were vaping, and one group was passing around a pop bottle. Wilbur guessed that it wasn't pop.

He looked down at the paper he'd been given, and looked up at door numbers. He was so close. He was looking down at the sheet when he slammed into what he assumed was another kid.

"O-oh, I'm so very sorry-" he said, looking at whoever he'd bumped into. It ended up being a girl. She looked about 2 or so years younger than him, and she seemed just as guilty for bumping into Wilbur.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going-!" she squeaked, hiding her face, "p-please don't hit me-"

"Why on earth would I hit you? It was my fault, if anything. I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going," Wilbur said, smiling slightly at the girl.

She uncovered her face. Her lower lip was quivering and it looked like she had been crying, "Are you alright?" Wilbur asked.

"I-I'm alright, thank you," she said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm Claire..."

"My name is Wilbur," he said, sticking out his hand.

Claire carefully took it, shaking it lightly. She smiled up at him, "Well, it's very nice to meet you Wilbur. I hope to see you sometime soon!" she said, before rushing off.

Wilbur smiled lightly, but a thought tugged at the back of his mind as he continued walking.

He finally reached his dorm, fumbling with the keys before unlocking the door and walking inside. It was one main room, with another door on each side. There was a small couch with a coffee table in front of it, and a mini fridge under the table. There was one small window, allowing dim light to flood into the dark room like a spotlight.

Wilbur saw water droplets on the window, and based on the small tip-tapping he heard, it must have been raining.He assumed he was the only person in the dorm, so he went to the left side, as it said on the paper, and used the keys opened his door.

It was a decent sized room, fit with a bed in the corner, and a small desk next to it. There was a closet in the back, and an open door, through which he could see a small washroom. It was a nice room, but he couldn't help but notice that the room looked baby-proofed. There were no sharp or pointed edges on the desk, bed, doors, or anything else in the nearly bare room. He would of course fix the bareness once he received his other luggage, containing various posters, plushies, and decor. All for this purpose alone, as well as comfort. For now however, he would have to deal with the emptiness of the room.

'Well, I suppose I'll check my classes...' he thought. And with that, he set his bag by the desk, flopped down on the bed, and began reading through the many subjects he'd selected for that year.